Stories from RhyDin & The Rings

(( To better understand what this is all about, check out the original Shine. Obviously, it was discontinued, but I have plans to bring it back in a different manner. For the time being, have fun with new Ellie, and stay tuned! ))


Merely a few weeks ago...


A dark purple streak across the vibrant blue sky.

A deeeeeep breath in, and a loooong breath out. "Ahhhh," spoke the somehow always slightly annoying voice of Sai Kurou. "It's good to be back." The astral demon was just going through a sky cruise above some arbitrary continent on the planet Rhy'Din. It wasn't so arbitrary, though. He knew where he was. He would soon be passing over the ruins of Prism City. Its destruction held bad memories and sentiments for him, so he didn't normally like to look down at it.

But this time, he had to. A faint glimmer of blue light caught his eye. "Huh?" He looked down, scanning the ruins for the source of the sparkle. "Ugh... guess I have to go down and search..." He dropped out of flight and landed in the ruins of a city he once loved.

He didn't have to wander for very long. There was a profound sixth sense drawing him in a certain direction. A certain ethereal je ne sais quoi. He found himself standing in front of the remains of a dear old friend's flower shop, wide eyed.

A shining blue longsword was sticking out of the highest point of the rubble, sword in the stone-style. "The... the Krita-Yuga?! Wait, that means--!"

Over a year ago, in a timeline that no longer exists...


You lie on the bed in a depressed stupor, clutching the pink bunny you had received as a gift recently. Or was it recently? You can't tell anymore. It reminds you of the blue bunny nearby that you received as a gift from him, and it hurts. You haven't been out because you were reminded of how weak you were, and it hurts.

You couldn't save him. Even with Brutus and Pixie knowing what was going to happen, even with incredibly strong people on your side...

Serge still died that day.

You tried so hard to live without him. You told yourself, and others, that he was your boyfriend, because you knew he wanted that so badly. You tried to pretend that he was there with you.

Nothing could have prepared you for how messed up in the head and in the heart you were going to be to lose someone so absolutely important to you. You didn't love him the way he wanted you to, but you loved him more than anyone and anything else in the world. He's gone. He's gone forever because you were too weak to save him. You tried to fight in duels to get stronger, to get over it, but the only thing you managed to accomplish is proving to yourself how weak you were.


You've been lying there for a while now. You don't know how long "a while" is. Days? Weeks? Your eyes are barely open. The life has already left them.


And before too long, the life would leave the rest of you too.


No one involved in your endeavors could have predicted the consequences of your death, because aside from losing Serge, everything happened like it was supposed to. In fact, nobody could have predicted your death in and of itself.

The moment you died, the universe itself began to grieve desperately. In fact, it had already been grieving. It felt guilty about all the pain that it had inflicted--both directly and indirectly--upon all the life that lived in it. That was the true purpose of your quest. You were to relieve the universe of its pain, and by all accounts, you should have been able to do that.

Serge's death threw a wrench into everything. You became heartbroken, and lost your support system. The sentiments you tried to give the univese weren't earnest. You didn't believe them yourself, because you lost the person who made you happiest, and you didn't want to imagine life without him.

And so, instead of destroying the universe's pain, you absorbed it.

The moment you died, it all went rushing back. On top of that, it now had to grieve for you, as well as feel guilt for having killed Serge, and consequently you, because you tried to save it. The situation was now much worse.



You are now the Great Spirit of Time, Chronos. And you are disdainfully watching the situation unfolding from the spirit realm with the Lord of Spirits, Maxwell, standing beside you. "Maxwell... we have made a grievous error."

Maxwell averts her eyes from the scene to look at you. "...Your words seem especially meaningful."

You can't believe you're about to say this, because it's such a drastic measure... but you know what is at stake. "...I am going to reset this timeline."

You are now Pixie Strider*. And you can't stop crying. You didn't think you'd ever be the kind of person who would cry about anything. The news hit you like a freight train. You don't even want to imagine what Brutus is like right now.

First Serge, now Ellie. And for her to go that way... why? How?! You chuck the tissue box at the wall across from your bed, and rise to your feet.

You want answers. And you want them now.

As if responding to that desperate plea, your long-dormant precognition kicks in, and you see the blurry image of a gray humanoid figure. But you're not so sure that's your precognition as much as you think it might be some grief-stricken delirium. In fact, you dismiss it outright as such.

You go to the funeral. Very strangely, there aren't many people here. She was very kind and touched a lot of hearts; why aren't there more people? You'd have thought her adoptive mother and her boss at the bakery would have shown, but they're nowhere in sight. The only ones here are you, Brutus, the Seraphim Knights, and Sai. All of you in all black. Ellie is buried next to Serge, with both of the bunny plushies in the casket with her. Seeing her in that casket, you can't help but start blubbering like a tool again. Brutus can barely keep his composure. Even the Seraphim Knights look shaken by it.

((* Pixie doesn't have an account because we never got far enough in the original Shine for me to make one for her.))

Speaking of the Seraphim Knights, you are now Neo Eternity. You look to your comrades and cant your head away from the casket. We need to talk about this. You leave Ellie's friends to spend time at the grave with her while the three of you walk a few yards away to talk in private.

"This blows," speaks Jin first. It's still hard to believe that's your brother there. The three of you reunited to help Ellie and the others. His hair's so long and wild, and he's so much more buff than he used to be. But even at a gloomy funeral, he insists on wearing sunglasses. That's a Jin Eternity thing if there ever was one. "Like, for real... how'd we let this happen? This's so bizarre..."

"Actually," replied Kersh, "there are cases of this sort of thing happening within my memories from Surl. They almost literally die of loneliness. Sometimes it's starvation, other times the body just shuts itself off."

"Yeah, but..." you start, "why weren't we able to catch this and help her?"

"We all had things that we needed to get back to doing, even those two," said Kersh, with a head cant to indicate Brutus and Pixie. "And none of us had any reason to suspect that there was trouble."


"You shouldn't blame yourselves." A deep feminine voice echoes across the somber silence. Pixie and Brutus look back to it, and then so do you and the others.

"Maxwell?" You blink stupendously. "Lord Maxwell, what are you doing here?"

"I'm here to take all of you to see someone."

"What? At a time like this?" Sai's first words at the funeral bring up a pretty good point.

"Actually, this is the best time. Did you not wonder why you all were the only ones here?" That's a good point she has there. It struck you as very strange indeed.

"A class act like her dies and we're the only ones ta show at the funeral?" asks Jin. "How did ya pull that off?"

"Never mind that. This is of utmost importance. When Ellie died, all of the universe's pain came back."

"Wait... what?!" Even Sai is taken aback by this, an extremely powerful being normally in the know about everything. "Why would that happen? Ellie destroyed it!"

"Did she, though?" asks Maxwell.

"She... she did, right?" asks Jin. Now you're not even sure... yet you were there at the final battle. It certainly felt like you did!

Kersh's eyes widen and you can tell he feels like an absolute fool. "I can't believe I didn't realize it. With a loving, powerful, and joyous heart, like what Elina had before Serge died, you can take that pain and destroy it. But instead, she absorbed it. She was absolutely heartbroken and hid it from everyone for the sake of completing the mission."

"Correct, Kersh." Maxwell nods. "Absorbing that pain caused the hurt she already had to be magnified beyond the extent of what a human heart can reasonably endure. And yet somehow she did, until it ate away at her enough to finally kill her. That is why we are standing here in this terribly sad situation. Two of your friends are dead, and the universe is in even more pain than it was before."

"This is a worse state of affairs than when it started," you say somberly.

"Indeed it is. It legitimately cannot be allowed to stand, and that is why we must go see someone to fix it. In fact... two of you have already 'seen' him."

Pixie ran over to Maxwell and grabbed her by the arms as soon as she finished that sentence. It happened quite suddenly. "Who is that?! Tell us!!" It's still strange to see such a cool customer so out of sorts, but it makes sense in context... part of which you don't fully grasp just yet.

Brutus ran up to Maxwell too. "Please tell us! Why did we see him?!"

You tilt your head to the side in confusion. "What? ...Wait, the precognitions started again? Who are they talking about?"

Maxwell took a deep breath and removed Pixie's hands, then gently placed her own on her shoulders. "The Great Spirit of Time, Chronos. We are to visit him and reset this timeline."

A shocked look on everyone's faces, and a very pregnant pause. "Wait, wait," says Jin incredulously, "that's a thing?!"

"In a manner of speaking. I will let Chronos explain."

You and the others are now in a pocket dimension, an expanse of gears and clockwork all around you, with the Great Spirit of Time, Chronos, floating before you.

His eyes slowly scan the entire group. "I trust Maxwell has briefed you on why you all are here."

"Maxwell said," you start, apprehensively, "that you were going to... reset the timeline?"

"Yes." Then, a long pause. "...Although what exactly that constitutes is not obvious from the term we have used to describe it."

"Whaddaya mean?" asks Jin.

"Elina Luisante, Serge Tenebra, and the entire conflict you were all involved with will be spliced out of the current timeline."

Even Sai is surprised. "You... you can do that?!"

"It will take a tremendous amount of work, and a long time to complete. Two of you will need to stay here with me for the first part." Left hand's middle and index fingers indicate Brutus and Pixie. "The two of you grew up with the two of them. Your lives were shaped by knowing them, not merely influenced."

Brutus strokes his chin. "That is true... but why does that mean we must stay here?"

"The two of you will potentially lead radically different lives as a result of never having met Elina and Serge."

"Wait," interjects Pixie, "We're going to never have met them?"

"Do not interrupt me." Chronos's stern tone shuts her up promptly. "Only for a time. Your lives will also be different as a result of never having gone on your quest. You two are the most affected. Not only that, but you two are the ones who know the two departed souls the best. They have imprinted themselves upon you. Thus you must stay here. I will require your very essences, both in terms of yourselves and the two imprinted upon you, in order to properly accomplish this splice. The two of you will not stay here the entire time; you'll go back to Rhy'Din and live normal lives oblivious of this conflict, but I must have you for the initial part of the process."

The party takes some time to process it (and also to make sure Chronos is done talking) before Kersh asks, "Does this mean that for a period of time, Elina and Serge will never have existed in this universe, but then once the splice is complete, they will always have existed, but the quest will not have happened?"

"That is correct." Chronos nods slowly. Another pause. "There is a slight correction. The quest will not have happened yet. The dimensional intersect will be pushed back in time. As the premonitions are tied to this, they will also start later. You won't know this by the time it happens, but once your premonitions start up again, that will mean the time is near."

Brutus nods in comprehension, whereas Pixie is still trying to comprehend it. Regardless, she pipes up first. "Well... if this is what has to happen to get two of my best friends back, I'm in!"

"I concur." Brutus is not far behind.

"I expected that response," replies Chronos, who seems incapable of smiling.

"What about us?" you ask.

"The rest of the universe will simply forget about Elina and Serge, unless either of them touched their hearts in a profound enough way. Obviously, the three of you had your hearts touched by her. However, you can't be allowed to remember her."

"What? Why not?" you ask in implicit objection.

"The events that occurred before need to occur again as naturally as possible. That means meeting Elina all over again, and for everyone but Neo and Jin, Serge as well." You and your brother already knew Serge from a time long past. "The parameters will be tweaked in order to optimize chances of success and potentially drive the course of events down a different path, but outside of that, events need to transpire as naturally as they did before. Thus you must have your memories wiped of ever having met them."

"I... I see." You suddenly understand what Brutus and Pixie must have felt. You go through the same emotional motions as them, but loop around to acceptance much more quickly. You weren't nearly as close to her as they were. "Okay. Will this be happening now, then?"

"Actually, no. Maxwell will contact you all when the splice is complete and wipe your memories then."

"Why wait?" asks Jin.

"Because I want you three to reflect upon what happened and become stronger with that motivation. Your memories of Elina and Serge will disappear once I have completed the splice, but what you do between now and then will not cease to be."

You scratch your head and think on it... it actually does kind of make sense. This must be one of the things Chronos meant by 'tweaking parameters'. "Okay." You nod resolutely. "Then... when do we start?"

"We start immediately. You two will stay with me." Chronos again indicates Brutus and Pixie. "Maxwell and Sai may stay if they wish. Seraphim Knights, you must depart." Chronos waves a hand, and a portal crackles to life behind thim. "That will take you back to Rhy'Din. Go now."

Kersh thinks on it for a minute, then bows slightly to Chronos. "You have our thanks, Great Spirit of Time." He then makes no delays of taking his leave.

"So we get to do it all over again..." said Jin, gazing upwards absently, before then grinning. "It was one of the most incredible adventures I've ever gone on so I'm kinda excited that I get to do it again!" He slaps you on the back then goes through the portal.

You, on the other hand, have one last thing bothering you, and you're not sure how to express it.

"Out with it," presses Chronos.

"Oh! Uhh..." You rub the back of your head. "There's one more thing bothering me. When Ellie fought Serge to try and bring him back from the malfestation... she did everything right but he still died. We thought long and hard about it but determined there was nothing she could have done to stop the malfestation from killing him."

"Incorrect," retorts Chronos. "Her final move emphasized to Serge how much he loved Elina. It made him regret and dread the fact that his death would prevent him from interacting with her ever again, but it did not give him a compelling reason to fight the malfestation and stay alive. He died feeling like he was ultimately unnecessary to her. That she would get along just fine without him. Do you see where I'm going with this?"

Your eyes widen, and now you feel like the dumb one. "Oh, I get it! Then how are we going to prevent her from making the same mistake if no one will remember the quest and what went wrong?"

"You will see. Please go now."

Curt and to the point... but good enough for you. You sigh, and glance to Maxwell and Sai. They nod to you. You then look back to the Great Spirit of Time once more. "Thank you, Chronos." You turn around and walk into the portal, determined to train for the day you would help make everything right again.

Back to a few weeks ago, in the ruins of Prism City...


"The splice is complete." Sai turned around to face the source of the deep feminine voice that spoke behind him, breaking his intense gaze on the spirit sword. The Lord of Spirits, Maxwell, stood before him, her arms crossed in front of her chest. "Chronos finished his mission."

"And that means..." Sai tried to speak, but Maxwell interrupted him.

"Indeed, Ellie and Serge are alive in this universe once more, and once again, Nihil Eternity's fractured dimension will make contact with this one. That enire situation is getting a complete do-over."

"Kind of seems like that boat already sailed a couple years ago, didn't it? Look how late we are to the party." Sai laced his fingers behind his head and grinned roguishly at Maxwell.

The Lord of Spirits was not amused. "Don't get meta on me."

"Pfff, sorry." He looked back to the sword. "So, then... wait, there are still complications here that weren't addressed while we were with Chronos. She already touched the hearts of several strong souls in Rhy'Din. The reset might have worked for most of the universe, but it's highly likely those strong souls are not going to have forgotten her."

"No, they won't. It is a sad reality, but while they have met her, she will have never met them. This may inspire her to access the record of what happened before when the time comes. Chronos decided it would be best this way."

"How is she going to do that, anyways?"

"A pink bunny named Nadine. It was a gift from Rena Cronin. It is proof that even in her despair, she brought light into the hearts of those around her. It is also proof that these events transpired once before. Everything from before is encoded into that bunny, and we have found a way to get that bunny to her."

"Everything? Like... everything? Could the new Ellie meet the old Ellie using it?"

"We don't know if the memories will manifest in quite that way, but it would be rather advantageous if so. We won't know until it happens."

"Yeah, you're right. Have you seen the Knights yet? You know you have to wipe her from their memories."

"Not yet. I came to see you first since you happened to stumble upon the Krita-Yuga. You're a watcher; you need to be fully aware of everything so you can influence the course of events properly."

"You're damn right. I'm the best watcher." He laced his fingers behind his head with a grin. "Well, here's hoping it works out this time." Sai looked back to the Krita-Yuga. He then looked back to Maxwell, who was gone. "Hey, don't pull that Batman crap on me!" A lot of stomping and huffing.

> Begin story.

The players have taken their places, and the story begins anew... but how will the cards fall this time? Many variables have changed.

> Re:Shine.

Even the way the story is told will soon change...

> Reconnect command prompt.

Searching for main character...
...
...
...main character found.
Connecting suggestion input... done.

> Establish setting.

You are a young lady finishing up a 9 to 5 at a bakery in New Haven. There is just one last customer waiting on his cookies and you are finishing them up.

> Introduce yourself.

Your name is Elina Anais Luisante, but you like Ellie just fine. You are 22 years old with fair skin and light brown hair in a chin-length bob cut. You have vibrant teal eyes that don't see quite as well as they should; you're faintly nearsighted so you have a pair of rimless glasses with gold temples. They're coordinated well with your ethnic gold necklace, swirly gold armbands, and simple gold ring earrings.

A flour-stained white apron protects one of your usual outfits from the hazards of baking.

> Nobody cares what Ellie is wearing.

Nonsense, what Enoby--I mean, Ellie--is wearing is quite important!

Beneath the apron, you wear clothes of a style you like to call "adorabohemian". You have a simple light teal t-shirt with a darker teal heart front-and-center. On the bottom, a voluminous circle skirt that reaches just above your feet, white with a wide band near the hem, its base color the same as your t-shirt, and the flower decals on it the same color as the heart. The slip-on shoes you wear are the same color as the heart too, and the colors of the alice band in your hair match your skirt. A white flower clip with white feathers coming off of it is attached to the alice band.

Your outfit is hella coordinated. All of them are, really. It helps that you made your shirts and skirts. You really like your clothes, so you went to a local mage to have them enchanted with auto-tailoring magic that lets them heal just like the human body does, and protects them from mishaps like tears and burns. Supposedly the spell was invented by a duelist, but you don't much care for dueling so you know little about it.

> Adorable. Describe your job.

You are an apprentice baker at a bakery in New Haven. You've been working here for several years and you just love it. You love sweets a lot, pancakes most of all. It only makes sense that you learn to bake and help spread sweet goodness into the world. And of course, for your own consumption too. It's a wonder you're as svelte as you are. It might be that your consistently high spirits and bubbly demeanor are what burn away the extra calories.

> Finish that nice man's order.

The cookies, of course! It's not like you've been dawdling. You've been working on them this whole time! You bring the container of four big chocolate chip cookies out to the kindly old man waiting near the counter. "Here you go, sir!" Your bright voice and its bubbly tone bring light to the man's face just as much as the cookies he's happy to be in possession of. "Have a good night!"

"Thank you, young lady." The man paid already, so he makes his way out into the New Haven streets and on his way.

> Time to go, isn't it?

Indeed it is; 5:00 PM on the nose. You go back into the kitchen and remove the apron, hanging it up on a wall. "Good night, boss!" You cheerfully call in the direction of the back office.

"Good night, dearie!" The voice of an older lady calls back. You retrieve your Purse of Holding from the wall hook next to your apron and make your way out into the twilight.

> Go home.

It's not especially far back to your apartment; in fact, you can see the complex from here. It's up on a hill. The roads to get there aren't quite so straightforward, but the walking is part of what keeps you so healthy. Without hesitation, you begin your trek toward the hill.

> Keep an eye out for danger.

Even though you are in one of its nicer parts, you are still a resident of Rhy'Din City. It's not a particularly safe city, so you have to be watchful and vigilant. Especially since you don't know how to fight. Not even a little bit. Your best friend can fight, but you can't. You spend a lot of time with him so it's normally alright, but not when you're going to and from work. You typically try to stay near other groups of people in order to make it look like you're with them and thus not a smart target.

> Get pestered by your best friend.

Actually, you're going to meet him at your apartment and hang out, and that's why you feel a buzzing in your purse. You reach into the purse and pull out your phone.

Pesterlog wrote:taciturnZephyr began pestering sillyFlower at 5:15 PM.

TZ: Hi, Ellie. :)
SF: hi serge! c:
TZ: Are we still on for tonight?
SF: yup yup! come to my place! i'm gonna make cookies!
TZ: That sounds really nice! Is there a specific time you want me to come?
SF: nooope. you can even come up now if you want! ^.^
TZ: Aw, thanks! I'll do that. See you there!
SF: see you~

taciturnZephyr ceased pestering sillyFlower at 5:20 PM.

He probably left as soon as you said that. You love the guy so much. Not the same way he loves you, though. You've known for a long time now thanks to your keen emotional perception. The poor guy's so scared to tell you how he actually feels, but even though you can't return his feelings, you accept them with open arms. Some people think all of this will result in your relationship becoming unhealthy in the future, but so far, it's been just fine and dandy! So you're not worried about it.

> Back to attention.

Bright teals resume searching your surroundings as you slip your phone back into your purse. There aren't any other people around. ...That's not good. You can't blend in with any other groups this way. However, there's one direction you're forgetting to look and that's what's going to cause you trouble. As you pass by a dark alley that you do remember to look down, you suddenly find yourself yanked into said alley from behind.

You forgot to look backwards. What a dunkass.

> Try to escape.

You don't care what grabbed you or why, you just know that you need to make like a tree and get the f%$@ out. You try to use sudden quick movement to break away, but you're only yanked back further. Next thing you know, you're thrown to the filthy ground.

> Look at your assailant.

A filthy-looking lanky man stares you down with a knife pointed at you. Your heart is pounding. You're instinctively crawling backwards. You bump into a pair of legs and look up at who appears to be the man's burly accomplice. "W...wh... what do you w-want from m-me?" Tears threaten the corners of your eyes. You've managed to avoid this situation your whole life, but you live in Rhy'Din. Even in New Haven, it was guaranteed to happen at least once.

You are forced up to your feet by the burly man and restrained. The lanky man points his knife at your throat. "You got all dis nice jewelry yer wearin'. I bet you's filthy rich."

You're so scared out of your mind that you can hardly speak. "N-n-no! I... I'm not...! This... they... they're just... gif-gifts from t-the woman who r-raised me!"

"Liar!" The blade of the knife touches your throat. Your heart is beating even faster. You're sweating profusely. You think you might faint.

> Don't faint!!

No, you can't faint. If you do, they might take you off somewhere and you'd be in an even worse situation. You're probably better off just doing whatever they tell you. "What... what do you w-want?"

"Empty dat purse."

Oh s#!t. It's a purse of holding. It was also a gift from the woman who raised you. You're going to be emptying it for a while. Not to mention, there are a lot of things in there you'd rather not lose. How can you handle this?

> Go for the wallet first.

With trembling hands, you open up the purse and reach inside, pulling out your wallet. You shakily hold it out to the lanky man.

"So generous! We gon' get all da fat stacks!"

You realize that might not have been a great move. They're convinced you're rich, so as soon as they realize you don't have a lot in there, they'll get mad...

Just before the man can take the wallet from you, you hear a slash and see a spray of blood on the alley wall. The lanky man falls over with a large gash on his back.

> See who did that.

Standing behind him is Serge Tenebra. His red eyes, normally so calm and serene, burn with rage that you can see even with his two-tone teal and black hair--long for a guy, on nearly all sides about as long as yours--obscuring them. A disdainful frown mars his fair complexion. He's the same height as you and only slightly stronger, but here he is making a stand. He even managed not to get any blood on his clothes somehow.

> Nobody cares what Serge is wearing.

Shut up. He has soiled neither the gray t-shirt with a black spade front-and-center, nor the black jeans with gray geometric patterns at the calf, diagonally arranged to be higher on the outside and lower on the inside. Actually, his black and white sneakers aren't quite so lucky, but he doesn't seem to care.

In his left hand, the scabbard of his sword. In his right hand, a plain katana, its blade now stained with the blood of your assailant. Well, one of them.

"Serge!" A wave of relief starts to wash over you, but just then, you find yourself roughly thrown into a wall, and tumbling to the ground. You look up to see the burly rogue dashing toward Serge, only to stop mere inches from the tip of the katana pointed at his throat.

"That's not how you treat a lady," comes Serge's uncharacteristically cold voice.

"Boy," comes the deep voice of assailant #2, "jes' who the hell do you think you are?"

"Ellie, stand up. Back against the wall." You comply with Serge's request without hesitation, though not sure what the request is for.

"Boy, you listenin'? You gon' pay for what you jes' did." Mugger #2 backs up a step and cracks his knuckles.

"Hmph..." Serge sheathes the sword in his scabbard and looks down.

"Decided to surrender and take your beatin' like a chump, eh? Fine by me!" Surrender? No... you know that's not what he's doing. Serge's fighting style is iaido.

The brute begins to advance, and Serge looks up with piercing resolve. His stance suddenly spreads wide, crouching down. He then springs forward, unsheathing the sword and slashing in one sharp, fluid motion, spinning through it to bring more force into the slash. "Sakura Twister!" He resheathes his sword as part of the same fluid motion and lands with a grace that you didn't know he had.

Blood sprays onto the wall across from you, and the brute, now slack-jawed and white-eyed, soars through the air and lands flat on the ground, skidding across. That's probably why he had you stand up and get up against the wall. You can't believe what you're seeing. Your heart is still pounding. Your gaze on the assailants is broken by Serge's soft, shaky voice. "I did it..." You look back over to him. His hand is over his heart, doubtlessly pounding just as hard as yours. It only just now dawns on you that he was just as scared as you. He stepped up to save you and put both of your lives on the line in so doing. "I practiced that move for weeks, and could never get it quite right. It figures the time it finally clicks is the time I need it to the most."

He regards you with a considerably softer, worried expression than what he looked at the muggers with. This is the Serge you're used to. "Ellie, are you alright?"

> Tell him you're alright.

You're too shaken to use words properly so you just run over to him and hug him tightly. He sets the sheathed blade down and hugs you back. "I'm so sorry you had to go through that... So sorry you had to see that." Yeah, but... Serge just killed two people! At least... you think they're dead. That fact has to be hitting him any moment now. How must he feel right now? Even your keen emotional perception can't get a handle on this one.

"I was so scared... thank you... thank you so much..."

"Of course. I couldn't bear to see something happen to you." He kisses your forehead. You really are not romantically involved, but that gesture is one you have used on each other in the past to help soothe each other's feelings. More you to him than him to you. In reality, Serge is kind of an emotional wreck, but you do adore him nonetheless. "Should we go back to your place?" You nod into his shoulder, then pull back and weakly smile up at him.

> Go home.

Serge places the sword into his Backpack of Holding, then holds a hand out to you. You take it and walk alongside him out of the alley and away from the carnage, resuming your trek toward home.

"Ellie... I'm afraid I'm going to have to insist now."

"Serge... you mean..."

"Yes. You need to learn self-defense. How to fight. If I had been even a little bit too late... well, I don't want to think about it. If you learn how to fight, we wouldn't have to think about it." Serge is a student teacher at a weapon fighting dojo. They teach a wide variety of weapon styles there, all in the same school and in the same sessions. You've been to the dojo to watch his sessions and support him, but you've never been interested in fighting yourself. You've never wanted to hurt anyone, and it just seems so unlady-like...

But yet, one of the teachers you know only as Miss X uses a slender chinese blade called a jian, and you find her flowing, graceful fighting style to be quite captivating. A style like that is one of the most lady-like things you could do! "I know how you watch Miss X with those stars in your eyes," continues Serge. "She can teach you, she'd be happy to."

You find yourself suddenly very interested in the stonework of the road. You're nervous. For a little thing like you to learn how to fight... and such an elegant style, too. You like dancing, but you're not especially good at it, you've never really taken any dance style seriously. You like to spin around for obvious reasons. But fighting that is also dancing? "You can do it, Ellie." You look back up to Serge, who's softly smiling at you. "I'll help you every step of the way."

> Remember how it felt in that alley.

You're still hesitant, but then you recall everything you felt in that alley. All the fear, all the helplessness. The inevitability of having something taken from you... The possibility that you could be hurt or worse... You don't want to feel that ever again. "I... I guess it would make sense. It's a dangerous city, after all. I'll do it. I don't want to have to go through that kind of helplessness ever again."

Serge smiles and squeezes your hand supportingly. "Good. Then we'll do this together. You, me, and Miss X. The whole dojo, too. They love the treats you make for them. But not just them."

You give him a quizzical look. "What do you mean?"

"You can go dueling, too."

"Dueling?" You've never seen a duel before. You've only heard about it. A place where people fight with live steel, brutal fists, and powerful magic, all for sport! For fame and for glory! This is all you know about dueling, as well as the fact that there is a swords tournament called Madness going on and apparently brackets have been burning. "Isn't... isn't that a bit too brutal?"

"It's not inherently brutal, no. The rings are warded so that they heal you even if they use live steel, and the staff is friendly. Many duelists are friendly too. You know that nice blonde lady you often see around here, by that big manor?" You nod in affirmation. "She's the Baron of this district. Baron is the second-highest rank you can get, and it comes with a manor." Your eyes widen in surprise. Her of all people, a duelist? A high-level duelist? "No lie. Not just her. You know the director of the clinic? She used to duel too!" Your eyes somehow manage to get a little bigger. Someone who devotes her life to saving people's lives has participated in such a sport?! "If you duel, you will become even stronger in good company. I used to duel. I really shouldn't have stopped, I'd be a lot further along if I hadn't." He rubs the back of his head.

> Agree to participate in dueling.

You look down and think about that. The stronger you are, the less of a bad time you'll have in bad situations. Dueling makes sense... but even so, even as determined as you are not to feel helpless ever again, it still seems like a big step to take. Serge breaks your train of thought. "I'll tell you what." You look back up to him. "After we've been training for a bit, then you can decide." He smiles and nods.

"O...okay! That sounds like a good way to do it." You smile and nod back.

"Oh, hey, we're here." You're suddenly standing in front of your apartment complex. You'd been so enthralled in your conversation and the formation of the stone bricks beneath you that you hadn't noticed how far you've walked on that subconsciously ingrained path. "Let's go inside and watch some cute videos, we need some brain bleach."

"That's the best idea I've heard all day." You sigh your last sigh of relief, the one that indicates that the horrific situation is truly behind you now. But even though it is behind you and you're safe and sound, it has almost certainly changed your future.

> Go be cute, BFFs.

Into the apartment complex you go. There's little reason to continue the narrative from here.

Learning to fight... dueling... you have no idea how much you will actually need these skills, but it is perhaps for the best that you have them rather than not having them. What will the future hold from this point on?

> Disconnect.

Suggestion prompt closed.
Have a nice day.